That title is misleading. It needs to be more Edwardsean to be accurate. It should be titled How a Wrong-Headed Application of Jonathan Edwards Has Nearly Made Shipwreck of My Soul. Let me explain.
About seven years ago I read this Resolution of Jonathan Edwards:
5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
Since that moment I have made it my ambition to not lose one moment of time for the glory of God. I have failed at this on numerous occasions. But one thing you could say about me is that I have been driven. I have been driven to take captive every moment in activity for God.
And it is wrecking my soul. Awe of God has been replaced by activity for God. I’m worn out and my joy in the Lord has faded. Activity for God, and even pursuing knowledge of Him, is not the same as savoring and treasuring Him.
What I failed to see is that Edwards’ prime resolution was this:
1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.
For Edwards he wanted to take every moment captive to drink deeply of God. For me I wanted to take every moment captive to do stuff for God. There is a massive difference.
I wrote this on a notepad yesterday:
Maybe, smelling one rose and actually worshipping would do more for awe in my soul than a whole host of “doing great things for God”.
I’m slowly learning that the way to “improve every moment in the most profitable way I possibly can” is to find joy in God in whatever I am doing at any given moment. Edwards did not mean that we surrender joyous activity—like observing spiders—and get busy with “spiritual things” like Bible reading. What Edwards meant is that while we are doing things, like enjoying spider watching, we pursue joy in God. That’s how you improve a moment.
Last night I ate a bowl of grapes. They were really good. And I thought about how amazing it is that God would fill His creation with such tremendous things like grapes. And so I thanked God for giving us these little treasures. And I worshipped.
I think I’m learning.
Excellent, Mike, excellent. Years ago, when I first acquired the two volume set of Edwards’ Works published by Banner of Truth, it was his resolution to live for the glory of God that became the zero point of resolution for me. It gave focus to my life, but I feel like I have utterly failed to live at my highest and best for that purpose. Sometimes I think only God can give the stamp of approval that will say whether or not we succeeded.
Thanks Mike! I have just begun to gain an awareness of how my soul needs to learn how to savor and enjoy God above all things, and in all things. Only then can a life of true worship begin, and an acceptable sacrifice of myself be made to God. It should be our utmost joy in worship and in our love for god and others.
Nice! The Holy Spirit expects much more than a busy body. Great post Mike.
Blessings,
Chris
Really good Mike. Often Edwards et al of his era can have the opposite effect in my life than should occur. I can get discouraged when I seem to fail. This from Edwards is so very good. Thanks for bringing your struggle out and pointing a better way.
Oh and Dr. J mentioning Edwards by Banner is a good reminder. Get those volumes if you don’t already have them brothers. And read.
This post was a blessing to me. I printed off copies and handed them out to a group of men in our church last night….making sure your authorship was shown. 🙂 We are starting a series about Godly masculinity versus the masculinity defined by our culture. It is hard to do that kind of study without, at times, appearing harsh or critical toward the men who actually care enough to attend such studies. I ended that first session by handing out your posting as something that I found edifying and encouraging even if it didn’t exactly match our topic.
By the way, I have read a little bit of Edwards so I had an idea where you were coming from. But after handing out those copies I expect Jonathan Edwards to get a few more Google hits today. 🙂
I wish to affirm your comment. I was blessed by the same thought: that when I get too busy trying to do the things that please God, I might be missing the point just a bit or at least I have things a bit out of order.
This might be the most direct response to the concept of “jadedness” as well: if someone is unhappy with God, then their focus shouldn’t be on “doing more”. They should “do less” and focus on enjoying Him. But our churches don’t structure their messaging this way for the most part. We tend to emphasize things the other way around and will essentially ride committed members until they can’t take another step. If not also pastors.
I believe putting enjoyment of God first leads to more dependence on God for specific direction and more reliance on God’s power for accomplishing his directives. I am less certain if the individual can “detect” God’s specific directives or out of obedience responds to what we are generally commanded to do.
I think younger believers might enjoy more specificity than older believers for instance. But any believer that becomes too dependent on specific direction might or might not be on a path to a period of time when God is quiet or silent. The temptation when that happens is to gin up a response from God. I think that temptation should be resisted. Let God be God but praying is still effective even when we don’t detect a direct answer. We have to trust that it is always a meaningful action.
Similarly: an overemphasis on an outward expression of attitude or action–including prayer, worship, alms, or whatever–could indicate that the person is compensating for a sense of “letdownness” (I made that word up…so of course it failed spell check.) I think that compensation stands in the way of real relationship and actually acts as a barrier to real relationship. So there is kind of a careful tack to be chosen between not stopping things that we are commanded to do while not overdoing them or while not also trying to get a response out of God.
Clearly Job permitted the circumstances–the miraculous badness that he was tossed into–to push him to seek a direct response from God. But the book of Job says he didn’t sin (early in the book) and that he didn’t speak untruthfully about God (later in the book, as opposed to the three first friends that God accuses of speaking untruthfully) in his trouble. While it’s tempting to suggest that there is a narrow zone of acceptability between continuing what we’re commanded to do and complaining to God, I would offer that isn’t the case. God has big shoulders and can carry all of the weight. Or as Jesus said: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” It isn’t because the weight is easy. It’s because of whom we’re yoked to.
Ed,
I’m glad you enjoyed the article and shared it. I pray that the Lord uses it to bless those men that you are teaching. I also pray that God uses you to help these men towards godly masculinity.
Thank you Mike. I certainly need and appreciate your prayers.
If I may, I would like to share a short testimony that I think complements your article.
Years ago I read a devotional from C.S. Lewis in which he stated that ‘we are not call to Live for Christ, we are called to die for Him daily’ (my paraphrase). That hit me between the eyes and took root deep in my heart, and much like you I vowed to die to the flesh and follow Christ every day in all that I did. At this time I was attending a Pentecostal Church (Church of God Cleveland) and I assume most everyone here understands their soteriology. There was early spiritual euphoria and some minor success (I guess I can say that) but in a few months’ time I became physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. I couldn’t keep it up. At first that felt like defeat and failure but it was actually an enormous blessing and I know God was in it.
The fruit of my effort to follow what I thought C.S. Lewis was saying is that I began to realize how utterly incapable I was of truly dying to the flesh daily of my own efforts and that without the grace of God I had no hope. Not only no hope of salvation but no hope of growing in sanctification and into a closer relationship with Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis was right by the way, but I was executing it wrong. Out of this I began to appreciate God’s grace more and more and I began to study it more. Along with this new appreciation for grace was a realization that with even my small understanding of God’s grace there is no room whatsoever for any response other than utter surrender and humility. So among other things I quit arguing with Scripture when I didn’t like what it said. Over time, somewhat reluctantly at first, this led me back to Baptist churches. But more importantly it strengthened my appreciation and reliance on God’s grace and shined a bright light on the sin of spiritual arrogance in my life.
That seems like just a few years ago, but as I count the years I am surprised to realize it has been about two decades. Our spiritual journey with the Lord is amazing and I am grateful for every step.
Blessings
Ed B